Base for a collapsible container



March 24, 1970 D. V E RHEIN' 'ET AL 3,

BASE FOR A COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER Filed March 25, 1968 $6726 9. ir/zmz dttorrzags United States Patent U.S. Cl. 220-4 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disclosed herein is a base for a container having side walls and end walls adapted to be seated in a channel around the outer periphery of the base and a top which matingly engages the top of the side and end walls, said base having a pair of support legs extending the full length of each side of said base, said legs each having a bottom panel to provide area contact with the supporting surface and a replaceable top panel. An insert leg having a bottom panel is positioned between said support legs with the bottom panel of the insert leg forming a continuous surface with the bottom panels of said support legs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Disclosed in our co-pending application was a collapsible stackable container which could simply and easily be erected for shipping and collapsed for return shipment. The base of this container has a leg located at each of the corners of the base to provide suflicient space between the base and the sup-porting surface to accommodate a fork lift truck and to allow for stacking of the containers. The container was originally used to transport animals or light loads by air but was not used to ship heavier loads by air due to the concentration of the weight of the container at the four corners. The load supporting surface in an aircraft is limited in load capacity and surface area contact is required in order to distribute the weight of a load over a large area in the supporting surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention disclosed herein is directed to a base which includes skid type legs and which is particularly adapted for use with a container having side walls, end walls and a top which are collapsible for storage on the base. The base includes a pair of hollow elongate legs having bottom panels to provide a relatively large area for contact with a supporting structure so as to reduce the unit loading in the supporting surface. Each of the legs has a trapezoidal cross section with the bottom panels of the leg positioned in parallel spaced relation to the base. The space between the base and bottom panels provides sufficient clearance beneath the container for pick up by a fork lift truck. A replaceable top panel is supported at the top of each support leg to protect the bottom or base being damaged by the fork lift truck. The top panel is made of an inexpensive material and can be easily replaced when worn or damaged.

Also in accordance with the invention, additional support can be provided for the base so as to insure load bearing engagement between the bottom panels and the supporting surface and to generally reduce the unit load on the supporting surface. In this regard, there is provided an insert leg which can be placed between the two supporting legs to maintain the bottom panel of each of the support legs in full area contact with the supporting surface.

3,502,237 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 ICC More specifically, the insert serves to prevent central upward bowing of the base when heavy loading occurs around the periphery of the base which bowing could have the effect of tipping the bottom panels along their outer edges and thereby disadvantageously reducing the area of supporting engagement between the bottom panels and the supporting surface.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in con nection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of the container with the base spaced from the container end walls, side walls and top wall.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the container in the collapsed position and stacked on the top of another collapsed container.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of one of the support legs.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a section of the insert leg.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. The scope of the invention is defined in the claims appended hereto.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the bottom or base 10 is shown as a part of a container 5 which includes a pair of side walls 12, a pair of end walls 16 and a top 20. The walls, top and base are made of a light weight material such as aluminum and are assembled in substantially the same manner as disclosed in our copending application.

The bottom or base 10 includes a bottom plate or wall 21 having double channel shaped aluminum extrusions 22 secured to the outer periphery of the edges of the plate 21 as shown generally in our co-pending application. The side walls 12 and end walls 16 are seated in the channel 23 in the extrusions 22 when the container is erected. When the container is collapsed, FIG. 2, the side walls 12 and end Walls 16 are placed on the top of the base 10 and the top 20 is placed on the upper one of the end walls 12 with the upper end wall enclosed by a flange 25 around the periphery of the top 20.

Various means may be used to form the skid type legs for the base. In the disclosed embodiment a pair of hollow elongate support legs 26 are secured in a parallel relation along two opposite sides of the bottom surface of the plate and extend the full length of the base 10. Each leg includes a bottom panel 30 connected by upwardly diverging side panels 32 to the bottom of the plate 21. Each of the legs 26 has a trapezoidal cross section formed by the plate 21, the bottom panel 30 and side panels 32.

Referring to FIG. 2 it should be noted that the outer edge 31 of the bottom panels 30 are spaced inwardly a distance a from the edge 33 of the plate 21. When a load is supported within the container 5 and particularly when the containers are stacked one on top of the other, a relatively heavy downward component of force at the outer edge 33 of the base can result in a tendency for the support legs 26 to pivot about the outer edges 31 of the bottom panels 30. Each bottom panel 30 will then be 1n line contact along edge 31 with the supporting surface, with the bottom plate 21 'bowed slightly at the center. This condition is dependent to some extent on the distance or span between the support legs 26.

To insure area contact with the supporting surface and thereby eliminate the above described possibility, an insert leg 40 is positioned between the two support legs 26. The insert leg 40 has a bottom panel 42 connected to a pair of upwardly converging side panels 44. The insert leg 40 also has a trapezoidal cross sectional shape when mounted on the base but is inverted with wide panel 42 at the bottom. The bottom panel 42 of the insert leg 30 should have a width equal to the space between the bottom panels 30 of the legs 26 and the distance between the top of the side panels 44 should be equal to the span between the opposite surfaces of the tops of the side panels 32 of the support legs 26. When inserted, the bottom panel 42 of the insert leg 40 completely fills the space between the bottom panels 30 of the support legs 26 and is coplanar with the bottom panels 30 to provide a continuous floor engaging surface. The bottom panel 42 will then engage the inside edges 29 of the support legs 26, preventing any pivoting of the legs 26.

The insert leg 40 may be braced or strengthened if the span between the legs 26 is relatively large. In this regard, a U-shaped brace 48 is mounted on the bottom panel 42 with the apex 47 of the brace positioned to engage the bottom plate 21 of the base 10.

In order to protect the bottom of the base from damage due to repeated contact with the fork lift truck, means are provided within the legs 26 to act as a cushion between the bottom of the base and the fork lift truck. For this purpose, a top panel 28 made of a consumable material is inserted in the top of each leg 26. A soft, inexpensive material which can be replaced when worn or damaged, such as plywood, can be used for the top panel 28 to absorb the impact and wear caused b the engagement of the fork lift truck with the panel 28 each time the container is picked up. Since the side walls 32 of the support legs 26 are welded to the bottom plate 21 of the base, the top or Wear panel 28 will be supported by the angular arrangement of the side walls 32 and can be removed from the support leg 26 if damaged.

Various means may be used to help hold the containers relative to each other when stacked. The containers are stacked. either collapsed (FIG. 2) or erected, by placing the bottom or base on the upper surface of the top of the lower container with the bottom panels 30 of the support legs 26 resting on the top 20. The upper container will be held on the top 20 of the lower container by means of an inverted U-shaped stop 50 secured to the edges of the top 20. More particularly, the inverted U- shaped stop 50 is secured to each edge of the top 20 to fit in the space a along the outer edge 31 of each of the legs 26. The stop 50 will then hold the upper container from the lateral movement on the top of the lower container.

What is claimed is:

1. A base for a container, said base comprising:

a plate, and

a pair of support legs secured along two sides of said plate,

each of said legs having a bottom panel and a pair of side panels connecting said bottom panel to said plate in parallel spaced relation to said plate, said plate, said bottom panel, and said side panels being interconnected to form a trapezoidal cross section, each said leg including a top panel positioned in a parallel relation to said plate and said bottom panel, said top panel being formed of a consumable material.

2. A base according to claim 1 wherein said material is plywood.

3. A base according to claim 1 wherein said top panel is replaceable.

4. A base for a container, said base comprising:

a plate and a pair of support legs secured along two sides of said plate, each of said legs having a bottom panel and a pair of side panels connecting said bottom panel to said plate in parallel spaced relation to said plate,

and an insert leg positioned between and in mating engagement with said side panels of said support legs and having a bottom panel forming a continuous surface with said bottom panels on said support legs.

5. A container according to claim 4 wherein said side panels of each of said legs are upwardly diverging and said insert leg includes a pair of upwardly converging side panels.

6. The combination in a container of collapsible sidewalls and end walls, a top and a base,

said base being formed from a substantially fiat plate and having a pair of supporting legs secured to said plate in a parallel spaced relation,

each of said legs having a top panel formed from a consumable material, a bottom panel and upwardly diverging side panels connecting said side panel to said plate, said bottom panel and said side panels being connected to form said legs with a hollow trapezoidal cross section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,578,644 12/1951 Mautner 22097 X 2,639,112 5/1953 Cushman 10855 3,266,656 8/1966 Kridle 220-4 FOREIGN PATENTS 197,269 9/1957 Austria.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 

